IIoT simulation model for industrial equipment

GE is teaming with ANSYS on the development of digital twin simulation modelling that can optimise machinery in the industrial internet of things.

ANSYS will collaborate with GE to create model-based digital twin technology and commercial business models to deliver the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). This builds on an existing relationship between the two companies. ANSYS will demonstrate a variety of industry-specific digital twins at GE’s Minds + Machines event in San Francisco, dedicated to building digital industry.

Simulation technology is no longer solely used by engineers to design better products and reduce the costs of physical testing. Organisations are expanding the use of simulation into operations by creating digital twins – virtual representations of individual operating assets whose performance and productivity can be improved dynamically through simulation technology. Coupling the rich sensor data from increasingly smart industrial equipment with the predictive power of simulation, specific operating conditions can be analysed and failure points predicted, unlocking billions of dollars in production and maintenance optimisation.

Digital twins can live with the asset, providing a dynamic self-teaching model used to optimise its performance in conjunction with an IIoT platform. This combination of machine learning, coupled with physics-based modelling, enables organisations to see how their products performed in the past and predict the future simultaneously. Using ANSYS to create model-based digital twins will provide a foundation to scaling the benefits of the IIoT. This is no longer a theoretic concept as ANSYS and GE Global Research are already demonstrating actual implementation of digital twins, like the GuardEon Molded Case Circuit Breaker, a powerful low-voltage circuit breaker designed for industry applications. By using ANSYS software, GE engineers are able to study and test complex physics at a level of detail that was impossible to achieve through physical testing.

“Pairing physics and analytics models via the digital twin is essential to providing our customers with the insights they need to create competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world,” said Eric Bantegnie, ANSYS vice president. “We are excited to be taking another step forward in our long-standing partnership with GE.”

Through this collaboration, ANSYS will work with GE Digital, GE Global Research and GE’s industrial businesses to expand and integrate ANSYS’ physics-based engineering simulation and embedded software development platform with GE’s Predix platform to power digital twins across a wide range of industries. Scaling digital twins from the edge to the cloud will accelerate the value of ANSYS simulation, drive Predix adoption and open new opportunities to explore new business models and commercial relationships.

“We are building digital industry to drive better outcomes for our customers through the Predix platform,” said John Magee, Chief Marketing Officer, Predix. “ANSYS is an expert in physics-based simulation, and we are pleased to work with them to scale model-based digital twins on Predix to provide our customers with new insights that were not possible before.”